UW Huskies-Oregon canceled, throwing Pac-12 title game and Apple Cup hopes in the air

Just weeks after COVID-19 left the Washington State Cougars without enough players to play the rival UW Huskies in the annual Apple Cup, the Huskies’ own COVID-19 cases have dashed a date with another rival.

Latest College Football Insider with 710 ESPN Seattle’s Maura Dooley

Saturday’s scheduled game between the UW Huskies and Oregon Ducks in Eugene, Ore., has been canceled due to Washington not having enough available players on scholarship as a result of a spread of COVID-19 on the team.

This is the third canceled game this season for the Huskies, who also had a scheduled season opener against Cal called off due to COVID-19 issues for the Golden Bears in addition to the Apple Cup.

The Pac-12 announced the cancellation late Thursday afternoon.

Statement regarding Saturday's Washington at Oregon #Pac12FB game: pic.twitter.com/C6FLd28hv7

— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) December 10, 2020

As with other canceled Pac-12 games this season, the game has been ruled a no contest, which leaves one big question: What happens now to the Pac-12 Championship? UW currently leads the conference’s North Division with a 3-1 record and Saturday’s game against 3-2 Oregon would settle the division title, and the Pac-12 Championship between the North and South champions is scheduled for just six days later on Dec. 18.

“We are disappointed for our players and fans and for our opponent that our game will not be played this weekend,” UW coach Jimmy Lake said in a statement. “We are doing everything we can to resume football activities as soon as we can safely do so.”

Washington athletic director Jen Cohen also shared a statement: “I’m so disappointed for everyone involved here. Every year our student-athletes, coaches, staff and Husky Nation circle this game on our calendar and so look forward to this amazing rivalry. The student-athletes from both schools have worked so hard, and I’m just really disheartened we are this point where we are unable to play due to our COVID-19 positives within the program, but we will always put the health and well-being of our students, coaches and staff as our greatest priority when making decisions. We will continue to work in collaboration with our medical professionals as they advise us on how to best move forward.”

There had been hope that UW and WSU would be able to reschedule the Apple Cup for the weekend of Dec. 19, though that would have already required the Huskies to lose to Oregon, taking them out of the running for a spot in the Pac-12 Championship. Regardless, it now seems unlikely the Huskies would be healthy enough by next weekend to play, whether it’s the conference title game or the Apple Cup.

Most Pac-12 teams that have had to cancel games due to COVID-19 cases, including WSU, have had to miss two games. With the Cougars, they first had a Nov. 21 game vs. Stanford called off, followed by the Apple Cup that was set for Nov. 27 in Pullman.

The last time the annual Apple Cup didn’t take place was 1944.

WSU (1-2) still has a scheduled game this week as it will host Cal at a rescheduled game time of 1 p.m. Saturday. You can hear the radio broadcast live on 710 ESPN Seattle beginning with the pregame show at 11:30 a.m.

Follow Brent Stecker on Twitter.

Last week: UW Huskies comeback effort falls short in loss to Stanford

Follow @BrentStecker